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Nightmare on Elm Street, A (US - DVD R1)

Dustin McNeill reviews the original Nightmare in Infinifilm Special Edition

Feature

Nancy Thompson's ordinarily peaceful sleep has been troubled lately by a series of ghastly nightmares about a horribly burned man with razors for fingers. As it would turn out, her friends have been suffering from the same ailment and begin to die grisly unexplainable deaths in their sleep. Ignored by the police (presumably because 'dream-demon' doesn't look to good on a coroners report right next to 'cause of death') and with few allies, Nancy is left to fend for herself against the mysterious nightmare man. Before she can figure out how to defeat him, she'll have to uncover the mystery of who he is or once was, a secret the residents of Springwood have well-kept until now. As the tagline goes " If Nancy doesn't wake up screaming, she won't wake up at all."

The best way a horror film can scare me is to unfold in a world not unlike my own. Secluded summer camps and space ships high in orbit are good fun, but I frequent neither of those places. Director Wes Craven in all his wisdom chose to situate his Nightmare in two locales that most of his target audience would know well. The first would be quiet suburban 'Any-town U.S.A.' or for the purposes of the movie, Springwood, Ohio. The second (and this is why I say most) would be the character's minds, their psyche. If a film has this element of familiarity, it's already well on its way to scaring me. If it does its job well enough, I'll turn the corners in my house tonight a little more cautiously to be sure that whatever hellish antagonist it has isn't waiting for me.

Of course, this is my umpteenth viewing of A Nightmare On Elm Street and having suffered through the sequels, the film ceases to scare me now. What it hasn't ceased to do is fantastically entertain me and take from my wallet hard-earned dough for special edition releases. I feel that even twenty odd years later, the film still packs a good scare, not surprisingly; this is an important film for horror enthusiasts.

The main attraction of Nightmare is of course Craven's incredibly well written antagonist, Freddy Krueger. Played to devilish perfection by Robert Englund, it's wonderful fun to see the character in his terrifying prime, long before it was hosting MTV and ruining the franchise. It's this original that secures Freddy’s place as one of the most horrifying villains ever to grace the big screen. Think about it: you can't outrun this slasher. You could try to hurt him, but how exactly do you hurt something that laughs in the face of pain? He's positively inescapable as your dreams are his domain and you have to sleep sometime. His look has become truly iconic, the red and green sweater, the dirty hat and razor-glove. He's nearly as recognizable as Santa Clause and thankfully just as fictional.

Craven's script for Nightmare is nothing short of ingenious, being a mixture of fantasy and horror. It's this infusion of genres that allow the line between reality and dreams to be blurred until the final disorienting (and possibly confusing) ending. It’s interesting that ordinarily 'it's only a dream’ would be a comforting thought, whereas in this film it's cause for alarm. No matter what level of consciousness you're in, the consequences are the same. Die in your sleep, die for real. The only time you're safe is when you're awake, and you can't stay awake forever. The ideology Craven presents us with is simply brilliant.

The cast aside from Englund are all just as good as the writing that went into the roles they portray. Heather Langenkamp is an excellent heroine, the smart and determined Nancy. It's rather strange to see a young Johnny Depp as her boyfriend and while he doesn't make or break the picture with his performance, he does his part well (especially for it being his first film.) As always, genre regular John Saxon is a delight as the town sheriff who wants what's best for his daughter, even if that means keeping things from her.

This part of the review could go on for much longer, but chances are you've probably seen this film already and most likely want to know if it's worth upgrading to from the previous edition. The movie hasn't changed any (knock on wood), it's still the same fright-fest it's always been, so I'll leave it at this; If Halloween established the slasher sub-genre, Nightmare re-energized it and for that, is a great horror film.

Video The film is presented in its original 1:85:1 widescreen aspect ratio. One of the perks of this Infinifilm edition is that it boasts remastered video and it shows. The first image of each shot is from the 2001 edition; notice how dark the image appears. This problem has been thoroughly corrected and sharpness improved for this release. Strangely, the colours lean more towards blue here, but it's not terribly distracting. I personally like the black levels of the 2001 transfer better, but it alone doesn't make for a better picture than this one. Clean of dirt and scratches, this Nightmare looks exquisite.

Audio New Line has outfitted the set with several audio options, the only one I listened to being the Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track. Distributors should take note for this is how a horror film should sound. While the bulk of the audio in Nightmare is atmospheric (think steamy boiler rooms) and musical (Charlie Bernstein's haunting score) in nature, it still makes for a fantastic listen. Once I first heard Freddy's razor-glove scrape metal, I knew I was in for a treat. The track literally immerses you into the films environment, one of the most 'surrounding' surround sound mixes on a horror film I've heard in a while. Turn the lights down low, the volume way up and prepare to be scared witless.

Extras I've never been on board for New Line's Infinifilm series. The whole thing just feels too gimmicky for my taste. 'Beyond The Film'—don't regular special editions do that? I don't understand why they couldn't have just stuck with their Platinum Series label. I tried to enjoy the movie 'Infinifilm' style, but it's too distracting, starting and stopping the show every four and half seconds for alternate takes and interviews. If I want special features, I'll pop in disc two.

The first commentary with Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon and Jacques Haitkin is carried over from the 2001 release, so I felt no need to hear it again. I did watch the film with the new commentary featuring Wes Craven, Robert Shaye, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Ronee Blakley and Sara Risher, and enjoyed it. Had the participants recorded all at once, this would be a party; however, they were conducted separately and tied together by a moderator. It's informational, but ultimately feels like a ninety two minute audio essay. I was somewhat let down that it wasn't scene-specific.

‘The House That Freddy Built' featurette is an great look at the history of New Line Cinema, even if it does play like a twenty-three minute long commercial. It covers from the early distribution-only days of New Line to the recent Lord of the Rings films. The most surprising nugget of trivia this feature held for me was that Peter Jackson submitted a script for Nightmare six called 'The Dream Lover’. 'Night Terrors' is a fifteen minute featurette on the history of dreams and their different cultural interpretations. As educational as it is entertaining, this is a fantastic inclusion for the set.

The seven part documentary 'Never Sleep Again' is a fifty-ish minute retrospective look at the production. Incredibly comprehensive, it covers much of the same ground the 'Welcome to Primetime' documentary did from the franchise box set (also released in 2001). Since much of the information given here is rehash to diehard fans, the plethora of outtakes make it worth sitting through.

The alternate endings are somewhat of a bore, simply alternate versions of the actual one (which was not only a bore, but a letdown.) The disc has several DVD-ROM supplements, some of which are carried over from the previous release. Surprisingly, these will work on a Macintosh. While I appreciate this, I don't much like DVD-ROM and didn't care to check out the offerings. If you're interested there's a 'script-to-screen' feature, weblinks, and ‘more’. Lastly, the second disc includes a ridiculously easy trivia challenge and the film’s theatrical trailer.

Overall As much as New Line's Infinifilm label bugs me, this is a stellar Special Edition. The technical presentation is an impressive improvement over the previous disc and the supplements definitely satisfy. Freddy-philes and cinema fans alike shouldn't hesitate in upgrading from the lacklustre 2001 release. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go grab my crucifix and settle down for a good nights sleep, hopefully devoid of everyone’s friendly neighbourhood dream demon.

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I watched the whole thing this weekend and if you watch the Infinifilm edition of the film, it includes some of the alternate takes and deleted scenes from the laser disc and 2-VHS copy. Unfortunately, not all are here, but the extra shot of Tina's death is, as well as some thing I hadn't seen on the 2-VHS edition. Also, I did notice that all those sound effects mentioned above are missing. I can't imagine why, but overall, I'm VERY glad I picked this up. It does have behind the scenes footage I have never seen before.

Can anyone verify that these scenes are in the "labyrinth" of the boxed set? I could never get through all that c**p.

I really wasn't planning on picking this up since I already have the box set, but the extras suckerd me in. While the brighter picture may bother some, I didn't mind it too much. But let's face it, the extras are the only reason to double dip. And I'm sure all Nightmare fans will be more than happy with this re-release.

You can easily tell if it's the trimmed shot. It's quite jarring and there's a discernible break in the audio. It just doesn't 'feel' right. Can't tell without seeing it myself, but if someone were to rip the end of that scene to XviD (or something) and post a link I could give you an answer.

2. When Rod jumps out of the bushes and grabs Nancy, the sound effect is gone.

3. When Freddy opens the door to Rod's holding cell, there used to be a 'stinger' synth sound effect. It isn't on the new DVD.

4. When the blanket-noose first tugs Rod's neck as he wakes up, the 'stinger' sound effect that was once there is missing.

5. The moment before Nancy lights Freddy up like a roman candle in her basement, he sc**pes his glove along the furnace to freak her out I suppose. Before, the sc**ping sound effect used throughout the movie is used here. It's also now absent. ***************

BTW, I'm glad I snagged a used copy of that Elite laserdisc for all the deleted scenes.

I was doing a side-by-side comparison of the old DVD box set's release and this new one, and I heard these sound effects coming from the set with the old version on there. When they played this in theaters this last week, I'd noticed that the sound effect that accompanies Rod getting hung wasn't there. I thought it made for a little creepier moment, but all the same, I was wondering why they took it out. I also rewound the knife-scratching scene at the end and wondered if they missed that one as well. After work this afternoon, I'm going to go home and listen to the original mono track on this release and see if these sound cues in there.

Does anyone else think that they've cleaned up the SFX shot of Freddy walking through the jail cell bars in this release?

Also, I've got the two-tape VHS set, and some people said that this version has Tina's death totally uncut, but I think it's the cut version. Blood splashes on Rod in every cut of this movie that I've seen, I think...

2. When Rod jumps out of the bushes and grabs Nancy, the sound effect is gone.

3. When Freddy opens the door to Rod's holding cell, there used to be a 'stinger' synth sound effect. It isn't on the new DVD.

4. When the blanket-noose first tugs Rod's neck as he wakes up, the 'stinger' sound effect that was once there is missing.

5. The moment before Nancy lights Freddy up like a roman candle in her basement, he sc**pes his glove along the furnace to freak her out I suppose. Before, the sc**ping sound effect used throughout the movie is used here. It's also now absent. ***************

BTW, I'm glad I snagged a used copy of that Elite laserdisc for all the deleted scenes.

Now, I haven't watched the entire thing yet but I watched up until Tina got killed and the "tearing" sound of Freddy's face is still there.

Wilson Bros wrote: movieguy85 wrote: Oooh, I'm intrigued. What's different about the "uncut" version of Tina's death? Love, love, love Nightmare, so if I have to, I'll eBay it to see the "uncut-ness"... if only someone could tell me what it was.

Thanks!

If the 2-tape edition you had contained everything, then it would have had the "trims" section with two very brief shots that were cut to prevent it from getting an "X", the main piece being a large, wet splash of blood as Tina's lifeless body crashes from the ceiling onto the bed, and said blood hitting Rod. This only equated to a couple of feet of film at the most, but it would have really added some "oomph" to the sequence if it had been left in. We are in the process of converting all of the second disc to DVD-R, so it will not be lost. Well, our LaserDisc player is in mint condition anyway, but installing it to use it each time is a pain in the a*se.

It's been awhile since I've watched that VHS edition w/ the deleted scenes (probably 10 years or so) but watching it the other night, did Tina's blood not splatter on Rod in the final cut? OR was it a little more extended? Damn I need another VCR!! (Jeez, after getting an HD DVD player that's the last thing in the world I'd expect myself to say.)

Jonno2006 wrote: Matt wrote: Jonno2006 wrote: Can't find the newline boxset anymore and if I did I think it would probably be around 200$ Just how hard are you looking? In under 30-seconds I found the set on both Amazon.com for around $45 and DeepDiscountDVD.com for around $38.

Ah, well I actually meant around where I live. Didn't want to buy it online. It's always American sites anyways. I'll look for it after work here in Montreal. Thanks anyways Matt!

i live in canada too and believe me, its much cheaper buying online through american sites..even with the exchange you almost always save money...anytime I wanna buy stuff I check both amazon.ca and .com and its always cheaper on the american site and again, thats including the exchange and sometimes even shipping...so i'm sure you could get that boxset cheaper online instead of trying to find it in stores

Matt wrote: Jonno2006 wrote: Can't find the newline boxset anymore and if I did I think it would probably be around 200$ Just how hard are you looking? In under 30-seconds I found the set on both Amazon.com for around $45 and DeepDiscountDVD.com for around $38.

Ah, well I actually meant around where I live. Didn't want to buy it online. It's always American sites anyways. I'll look for it after work here in Montreal. Thanks anyways Matt!

I hope New Line re-issues this DVD with corrected audio and re-releases the box set with commentaries/deleted scenes/featurettes/trailers for all of the rest of them, plus perhaps an additional new 2-disc set for New Nightmare. Sure, except for 3, they're not that great, but I'm a completist.

2. When Rod jumps out of the bushes and grabs Nancy, the sound effect is gone.

3. When Freddy opens the door to Rod's holding cell, there used to be a 'stinger' synth sound effect. It isn't on the new DVD.

4. When the blanket-noose first tugs Rod's neck as he wakes up, the 'stinger' sound effect that was once there is missing.

5. The moment before Nancy lights Freddy up like a roman candle in her basement, he sc**pes his glove along the furnace to freak her out I suppose. Before, the sc**ping sound effect used throughout the movie is used here. It's also now absent. ***************

BTW, I'm glad I snagged a used copy of that Elite laserdisc for all the deleted scenes.

Jonno2006 wrote: Can't find the newline boxset anymore and if I did I think it would probably be around 200$ Just how hard are you looking? In under 30-seconds I found the set on both Amazon.com for around $45 and DeepDiscountDVD.com for around $38.

movieguy85 wrote: Oooh, I'm intrigued. What's different about the "uncut" version of Tina's death? Love, love, love Nightmare, so if I have to, I'll eBay it to see the "uncut-ness"... if only someone could tell me what it was.

Thanks!

If the 2-tape edition you had contained everything, then it would have had the "trims" section with two very brief shots that were cut to prevent it from getting an "X", the main piece being a large, wet splash of blood as Tina's lifeless body crashes from the ceiling onto the bed, and said blood hitting Rod. This only equated to a couple of feet of film at the most, but it would have really added some "oomph" to the sequence if it had been left in. We are in the process of converting all of the second disc to DVD-R, so it will not be lost. Well, our LaserDisc player is in mint condition anyway, but installing it to use it each time is a pain in the a*se.

Anyone know if there will be another sweet boxset with all the movies including Freddy VS Jason(or not, doesn't matter)? Can't find the newline boxset anymore and if I did I think it would probably be around 200$ so I want to buy the new NOES but I kinda want a boxset with all the movies!

Wilson Bros wrote: A real p*sser about this "super-duper" edition of the movie is that you don't get the extensive deleted scenes that came with the $100 Elite LaserDisc! We bought said disc when it was new, and while that is a hell of a lot of cash (before the US dollar hit the floor) the presentation and love lavished on the movie made it worth the money - just take a look at the superb gatefold sleeve.

The new footage is a mixed bag, with some scenes filmed for US television not only to beef up the running time after the censors had gotten through with it, but to provide expository dialogue - the scene with Glen's father and John Saxon being a good example. The piece with Nancy's parents at the funeral is a pretty nice scene that fleshes out the relationship between them. Best of all is an extention of the mother/daughter talk in the boiler room, where a major piece of plot is revealed that changes the whole context of the kids of Elm Street. Nancy, Glen, Tina and Rod all had siblings killed by Krueger, which was the real catalyst for them torching him after he beat the rap, changing them from a typical lynch-mob to righteously just and suggesting that the four kids were "made-to-order" as replacements for the murdered children, and all traces of their dead siblings buried with the bodies. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the "rubber-bag" line from Saxon in a few of the promos, and this comes from one of them.

For those who have the disc, here is a list of the deleted scenes, and we'd be grateful if anyone can confirm that they are not on there. From the sleeve:

The Sleepover Tina's Last Nightmare The Classroom Visiting Rod Glen and Nancy at the Police Station Katja Institute Talking on the Phone On the Bridge Freddy's Past A Late Visit to the Station Before Glen's Death Alternate Glen's Death After Glen's Death (Scene #1) After Glen's Death (Scene #2) Final Confrontation (It's nice to hear Nancy say "f**k off" to Krueger...)

If they really are missing, do you want to bet that they will turn up later on when pushing one of the new formats?

Years and years ago my mother bought me the 2-VHS edition of Nightmare released by Anchor Bay. On that second disc were all those deleted scenes and I love them! I don't know if Anchor Bay owns the rights to the deleted scenes or not, but I was really looking forward to seeing them again. (I still own the VHS copy, I guess I'll have to break down and buy another VCR just so I can see them again.)

Ray Waterway wrote: It was Tina's death scene (the first kill of the movie) that was supposed to be uncut, but it's not in this edition.

By the way, the DTS-ES track on this is AMAZING. Totally worth the purchase price.

Oooh, I'm intrigued. What's different about the "uncut" version of Tina's death? Love, love, love Nightmare, so if I have to, I'll eBay it to see the "uncut-ness"... if only someone could tell me what it was.

Paul Dawson wrote: Is the new version the same cut that was included in the old New Line boxset? I was hoping for a new uncut version (complete with the full splash of blood in the Johnny Depp death scene was on my old UK VHS copy).

Good question, although the splash is during Tina's death, not Glen's. So Dustin, is it uncut?

omg how I love this movie. I believe that "halloween" and "a nightmare on elm street" are two of the greatest slasher films ever made. I was first in line tuesday to pick this up! I am really happy with this release.

Is the new version the same cut that was included in the old New Line boxset? I was hoping for a new uncut version (complete with the full splash of blood in the Johnny Depp death scene was on my old UK VHS copy).

Can't stand NOES 2. It's got sod all to do with 'gay subtext' (not that the makers were consciously aware of it anyway), it's because it pretty much discards all of the rules set up in the first film. It's more of a straight-ahead slasher film than the first as well.

I really only enjoyed the original, three and New Nightmare. Part four was quite amusing, but it was MTV Freddy. Five was boring as hell and six is an abomination.

A real p*sser about this "super-duper" edition of the movie is that you don't get the extensive deleted scenes that came with the $100 Elite LaserDisc! We bought said disc when it was new, and while that is a hell of a lot of cash (before the US dollar hit the floor) the presentation and love lavished on the movie made it worth the money - just take a look at the superb gatefold sleeve.

The new footage is a mixed bag, with some scenes filmed for US television not only to beef up the running time after the censors had gotten through with it, but to provide expository dialogue - the scene with Glen's father and John Saxon being a good example. The piece with Nancy's parents at the funeral is a pretty nice scene that fleshes out the relationship between them. Best of all is an extention of the mother/daughter talk in the boiler room, where a major piece of plot is revealed that changes the whole context of the kids of Elm Street. Nancy, Glen, Tina and Rod all had siblings killed by Krueger, which was the real catalyst for them torching him after he beat the rap, changing them from a typical lynch-mob to righteously just and suggesting that the four kids were "made-to-order" as replacements for the murdered children, and all traces of their dead siblings buried with the bodies. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the "rubber-bag" line from Saxon in a few of the promos, and this comes from one of them.

For those who have the disc, here is a list of the deleted scenes, and we'd be grateful if anyone can confirm that they are not on there. From the sleeve:

The Sleepover Tina's Last Nightmare The Classroom Visiting Rod Glen and Nancy at the Police Station Katja Institute Talking on the Phone On the Bridge Freddy's Past A Late Visit to the Station Before Glen's Death Alternate Glen's Death After Glen's Death (Scene #1) After Glen's Death (Scene #2) Final Confrontation (It's nice to hear Nancy say "f**k off" to Krueger...)

If they really are missing, do you want to bet that they will turn up later on when pushing one of the new formats?

Dustin wrote: Gabe, of the 79 video clips scattered throughout the LABYRINTH walkthrough, 45 are available in the index. That leaves 34 exclusive to the maze.

Few years back I tracked them all down and while they're all great, I wish they could've ALL been included in the index. Can't you get around that problem by making a copy of the disc with DVD Shrink and just remove the menus? That should play all of the featurettes one right after the other!!

I picked this up on Tuesday & this is, so far, the best that "Nightmare On Elm Street" has ever looked. I listened to the film in DTS ES & it rocked! It'll be hard to top this release. I can guaran-damn-tee this won't be the final release to "Nightmare". Why? The special features were to brief. Where were the deleted scenes? The alternate endings were o.k. If you watch all of the bonus material before watching the film itself you won't need to watch the Infinifilm version of "Nightmare", because the feature's are what make up the Infinifilm itself. It's like watching pete & repeat.

I also reviewed this release at my horror website (see my sig) with a more detailed comparison against the 1999 original DVD from the box set. There are some toss ups with the newly remastered print, and is generally brighter. I also agree about the Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track - awesome stuff. If you have the box set, upgrading to this new set is tough to reccommend. There's nothing Earth shatteringly new to learn through the featurettes, and the commentary is semi-redundant with info in the featurettes right from the start. In whatever case, both DVDs are a LOT brighter than the print I saw theatrically last Wednesday night.

S**t, I didn't realize that. In that case I do beleive that the labyrinth is silly.

I actually wasn't a fan of part 2 at all until someone pointed out the frank homoerotisism. Now it's one of my favorites. There's a gay-themed horror movie site on the web that I think puts it best, and after reading his thoughts I rewatched the film. It's hard to beleive that the director didn't get it.

I think the gay subtext made it a better film than say, part five or six... which are brainless c**p. Jessie was repressed and Freddy exploited that within him, used it to torment him.

I don't like NOES 2 for it's 'gay-ness' any more than I like NOES 3 for it's 'straight-ness'. I simply think the film had a unique story and subtext, one we dont frequently see in the horror genre. For the record, I don't advocate homosexuality any more than I condemn it.

Gabe, of the 79 video clips scattered throughout the LABYRINTH walkthrough, 45 are available in the index. That leaves 34 exclusive to the maze.

Few years back I tracked them all down and while they're all great, I wish they could've ALL been included in the index.

Only if you know the index was terribly incomplete, leaving out a good handful of clips.

I personally enjoyed the subtext of 2, I thought it was a little deeper than most horror films were going at that time. As for Freddy, him peeling back his scalp and seeing his brain pulsate, that was damn scary to me. I enjoyed how he wasn't a pop culture jester with lame one liners, which he would become starting with 3. I also liked how he came into the real world, through Jessie. His entrance at the party was fantastic... the image of Freddy against a massive flame "you are all my children". Great stuff.

I'm not too fond of the box set, frankly. The whole Labrynith (sp?) thing is really frustrating. The 'Welcome to Primtime' documentary is nice, but I felt the other films got short-changed in the extras department. I dug this edition because like the Omen set I so long-windedly reviewed a while back, it's everything I could ever ask for supplement-wise.

Can't see any real reason to upgrade from the version contained in the boxed set. That's still my favourite set of all time. They really did a great job with it, especially considering the year of release (even if they were on DVD5s).